Ball shaped float switch adapted to be mounted on a flat surface



June 29, 1965 F, 1 DOTY ETAL 3,192,337

BALL SHAPED FLOAT SWITCH ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON A FLAT SURFACE FiledOCT.. 12, 1962 /2 /3 INVENTORS:

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United States Patent O 3,192,337 BALL SHAPED FLAT SWITCH ADAPTED TO BEMUUNTED N A FLAT SURFACE Frederick L. Doty, S03 Terrace Place,Peekskill, N. and Gordon G. Fletcher, I.0. Box 535, Sebring, Fla. FiledOct. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 230,361

Claims. (Cl. 20G- 84) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to a switch for inclusion in an electric circuitof a signal to indicate the substantial rise of water in an enclosure,such as in the hull of a ship or compartment thereof.

When ships are put in moth balls or inactivated for long periods oftime, care must be taken that leakage of water into the hulls of suchships or compartments thereof does not become serious. While caretakersmake periodic visits to such stored ships, it .is desirable to providefor signalling to caretakers substantial leakage in a ship hull orcompartment thereof between'such periodic visits.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved and simple switchfor controlling a utilization circuit, which will be automaticallyoperated into desired circuit controlling condition by water or otherliquid rising around it, to cause operation of said circuit, and whichis so exceptionally simple, dependable, durable, compact and inexpensivethat it is practical to distribute them widely in places where leakagemay occur.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, dependable,compact and inexpensive switch which may be operated into a desiredcircuit controlling condition by water or other liquid rising about itto a desired extent.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following descriptionof an example of the invention and the novel features will beparticularly pointed out in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is ya side elevation of a switch constructed in accordance withthis invention as constrained against undesired displacement on thesurface on which it may rest, in normally open position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same after it has been operated into acircuit closing condition by water rising around it:

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of the switch in its normal open circuitposition; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a typical, simple alarm circuit in which such aswitch may be included.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a mercury switch 1 isprovided within a body 2 of a material that iioats readily in water,with its contacts or electrodes 3 and 4 extending exteriorly of the body2 and there connected to llexible, insulated wires 5 and 6. In thisexample, the body 2 is approximately spherical or somewhat ball-shaped,except that it has a segment removed or omitted to provide a flat base 7for seating on a horizontal fiat surface 8 on which the ball or sphereis normally supported in use. The switch 1 is preferably disposeddirectly above this at face 7' with the contacts 3 and 4 uppermost butextending into the interior of a closed glass casing 9 of the switch. Aglobule of mer- 3,192,337 Patented June 29, 1965 "lee cury 10 isdisposed within and only partially fills the chamber of the hermeticallysealed casing 9, so as to be out of contact with at least one of thecontacts 3 and 4 when the ball or body 2 rests on its iiat face 7. Whenthe ball is tilted or rolled from this position in which its at face hadrested on surface 8, the globule of mercury 10 will roll within thecasing 9 and make Contact or engagement with the inner ends of thecontacts 3 and 4 to complete an electric circuit between wires 5 and 6.

Provided on or in the body 2 is a weight 11 such as of metal, forexample lead, disposed eccentrically of the ball or body 2 and to oneside of the switch so that it is angularly less than 180 degrees fromthe center of the flat face 7. The exible, insulated wires 5 and 6 areslack or loose so that the body 2 can roll or tilt, and they areconnected in series with a battery 12 and any suitable audible or visualsignal 13, which signal may be both visual and audible if desired. Theball or body 2 may advantageously be formed of foamed polystyrene, or ofpolystyrene beads fused together in a mold, as by the use of steam, withthe switch incorporated in the ball before the fusing. After the fusingof the beads of polystyrene some sealing wax 14 may be applied .aroundthe outer ends of the contacts or switch elements 3 and 4 ofthe switchand the wires 5 and 6 soldered or otherwise secured'to the switchelements 3 and 4. The wax should cover the exposed outer ends ofcontacts 3 and 4 and the connections. As one example, the body or ball 2may have a height from the flat face 7 of about 3% inches, a flat facewith a diameter of about 21/2 inches and a lateral Width or diameter ofabout 4 inches.v The styrene is of the foamed type, such as foamed beadsthat are fused together in the somewhat spherical cavity of a mold (notshown). A latex or polyvinyl chloride protective skin coating ispreferably applied over the body2 when it is completed to make itentirely watertight or sealed against penetration by water. This outerprotective coating, the insulation on wires 5 and 6, and the wax 14,will be of materials inert to the liquid expected in the enclosure inwhich the alarm device is to be placed in use. The relative .arrangementof switch 1 and the metal 11 may be varied from that shown, so long asthe metal is of suflicient Weight to roll the ball, when the ball isoated and is free to roll, to an extent sufficient to change theposition of the globule 'of mercury in its casing 9 and connect or moveaway from one or both of the switch contacts. The switch may bepositioned or mounted to be inverted by a surrounding liquid from thatshown, so that the circuit between Wires 5 and 6 will be closed when thebody 2 is resting on its flat face, and opened when the body 2 rolls toshift the mercury out of contact with at least one of the switchcontacts 3 and 4. The alarm circuit would then be held inactive by anopen circuit through the switch. While the' ball shape, with flatsupporting face, for the body 2 is preferred, the shape may be other-Iwise and the body 2 mounted to tilt and operate the switch when wateror other liquid rises around the body 2.to a depth that will float thebody 2 and tilt it, or enable it to tilt, and operate the switch.

In use on a ship, the completed device is placed on the bottom of a tankor compartment, with its flat face resting on the bottom of the tank.The wires 5 and 6 are connected in an alarm circuit, of which thecircuit of FIG. 4 is typical. If water enters this tank, due to leakage,when it rises around the body 2 suliicient to float it, the weight 1iwill rock or tilt the body Z from the FIG. l position to the FIG. 2position and the switch 1 will activate the alarm or signal. The latexcoating is preferably first applied to the surface of finished body 2and after this latex coating is dry, the polyvinyl chloride coating isapplied over the latex coating such as by dipping the body 2 in thepolyvinyl chloride. The device may be suspended by wires 5 and 6 andwhen water reaches and surrounds the body 2, the water will tloat theball or body 2 upwardly to provide slack in wires 5 and 6 and enable thebody 2 to roll into the position shown in FIG. 2 where it activates thealarm.

It will be observed that without the weight i1, the switch, which isdisposed at the opposite side of the center of the ball from the itatarea 7, will, when the ball is floated, cause rolling or inverting ofthe ball to cause the mercury switch to close. The rolling or pitchingof a ship in which this device is placed will cause the ball to roll outof dead center position where it is oated by liquid rising around it,but the use of weight lil makes the operation of the switch throughrolling of the ball or body 2, more rapid and positive.

When the switch is placed in a ship compartment, and the ship is subjectto some pitch and rolling, it may be advisable to encircle the body 2with a low fence l5 with apertures 16. The fence is considerably largerthan the body 2 so that when floated the body 2 can tilt or roll freelyunder the action of weight 11 and operate the switch, yet it limitssidewise displacement or premature movement of body 2 on the surface 8on which it rests, so that it will not be prematurely tilted or rolledby the motion of the ship into a position in which the alarm isactivated, or into a position in which so much slack in wires 5 and 6 istaken up that these wires then prevent tilting or rolling of the body 2in a manner to activate the switch. r[he normal position of the body 2is shown in FIG. l, and the activated position, when floated by water,is shown in FIG. 2.

While the switch of this invention has been described in connection withits advantageous use in ships or tanks thereof to signal an alarm whenthe tank leaks, it will also be understood that the switch has variousother uses. For example, a plurality of such switches may be arranged atdifferent levels in any tank, and the tlexible circuit wires from eachswitch connected to an individual signal circuit, so that each switchwill control an individual signal. The condition of the signals willindicate when the different liquid levels in the tank are obtained, sothat the extent to which the tank is iilled Will be apparent by mereobservation of the signals.

t will also be understood that instead of having a switch operate asignal, the signal may be replaced by a relay whose other circuitcontrols a motor that drives a pump, whose intake leads to the bottom ofthe tank, so as to empty the tank when the switch is operated. Thus, theswitch when. used to control a pump, together with the pump, may act asan automatic sump pump. The signal and pump control may both be used,such as, for example, with the signal connected in parallel across thepump circuit. Where the exible wires 5 and 6 normally are taut enough tokeep the switch device in generally upright position, whenever the levelof liquid around the device rises enough to tilt the body, the devicewill tilt and activate the switch. When the liquid falls again, thedevice Will descend and these wires will return the device to its formerupright position, thus acting as an automatic reset for another cycle ofoperation. Such switch devices when connected to control pumps may alsobe used in submarines and ballast tanks of other vessels to controlliquid levels therein.

It will be understood that various other changes in the uses, details,materials and arrangements of parts, which have been herein describedand illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may bemade by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention, as expressed in the appended claims.

We claim:

ll. A switch for inclusion in an electric circuit with a signal toindicate the presence of a predetermined depth of water over ahorizontal surface, which comprises:

an approximately ball-shaped waterproof body having a ilat base meansfor seating the body stably in an upright position on the horizontalsurface,

said ball-shaped body having weight and dispiacement relationship forreadily floating in water,

said ball-shaped body including an elongate closed casing ofelectrically non-conducting material mounted therein approximatelynormal to the center of the base thereof,

a pair of electrical contacts extending into that endk of said casingremote from the base and terminating in exposed spaced relation to oneanother in that end of said casing,

an electrically conducting'liquid enclosed in and only partially fillingsaid casing and normally spaced from said contacts when the flat base ofsaid body seats on a horizontal surface,

a pair of tiexible circuit wires extending into said body and connectedto said contacts respectively,

said body further including a weight member of substantially greaterdensity than the average density of said body and whose maximum lineardimension is a minor fraction of the radius of the body, said weightbeing located in said body eccentric to a diametral line perpendicularto the center of the flat. base and in the'vicinity of the portion ofthe body remote from the hat base, to positively and rapidly rock saidbody to an approximately base upward position when said body is buoyedby said predetermined depth of water;

whereby when water rises to said predetermined depth around said bodywhile its base is seated on a flat horizontal surface, said weight willrock the lioating body into an approximately base upward orientation tocause said conducting liquid to move into engagement with both of saidcontacts.

2. The switch according to claim 1, and a fence means encircling saidbody with sutlicient looseness and clearance for preventingobjectionable sliding, rolling and tilting of said body on the surfaceon which it rests when said surface is tilted.

3. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the portion of said bodythat' includes the casing, the contacts, the wires, and the. weight iscomposed of polystyrene beads fused together.

4. A switch for inclusion in an electric circuit with means to indicatethe presence of a substantial depth of water in an enclosure having anapproximately horizontal surface, which comprises:

(a) a free body of a material which readily floats in water and hasmeans for seating the body stably upright on said horizontal surface insaid enclosure, and

(b) a switch tixed to said body for automatically closing in oneorientation and for automatically opening in a dilerent orientation,circuit wires leading from said switch and body for inclusion in autilization indicating circuit, said switch being in one of saidorientations when said body is upright,

(c) said body and switch, having their combined center of gravitylocated relative to said seating means for turning the body and switchfrom said one orientation to the other orientation when the body andswitch are floated by water of suicient depth around them.

5. In a device of the type for indicating the presence of water ofsubstantial depth in an enclosure having an approximately horizontalsurface, and lemploying a utilization electric circuit for suchindication, that improvement therein which comprises the combinationwith said circuit of:

(a) a free body of a material which readily floats in water and hasmeans for seating the body stably upright on said horizontal surface insaid enclosure, and

(b) a switch fixed to said body for automatically closing in oneorientation and for automatically opening in another orientation,circuit wires leading from the switch, and connected to said utilizationcircuit,

(c) said body and switch having their combined center of gravity locatedrelative to said seating means for tipping the body and switch from theupright position on the seating means and from said one orientationrespectively to said another orientation when the body and switch arefloated by water around them.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,867,278 7/3124Pensrum 20G-61.47 2,240,880 5/41 Bennett 200--84 2,329,502 9/ 43 Withrow200--84 2,600,659 7/52 Koch 200-84 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, PrimaryExaminer.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner.

4. A SWITCH FOR INCLUSION IN AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT WITH MEANS TO INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF A SUBSTANTIAL DEPTH OF WATER IN AND ENCLOSURE HAVING AN APPROXIMATELY HORIZONTAL SURFACE, WHICH COMPRISES: (A) A FREE BODY OF A MATERIAL WHICH READILY FLOATS IN WATER AND HAS MEANS FOR SEATING THE BODY STABLY UPRIGHT ON SAID HORIZONTAL SURFACE IN SAID ENCLOSURE, AND (B) A SWITCH FIXED TO SAID BODY FOR AUTOMATICALLY CLOSING IN ONE ORIENTATION AND FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENING IN A DIFFERENT ORIENTATION, CIRCUIT WIRES LEADING FROM SAID SWITCH AND BODY FOR INCLUSION IN A UTILIZATION INDICATING CIRCUIT, SAID SWITCH BEING IN ONE OF SAID ORIENTATIONS WHEN SAID BODY IS UPRIGHT, (C) SAID BODY AND SWITCH, HAVING THEIR COMBINED CENTER OF GRAVITY LOCATED RELATIVE TO SAID SEATING MEANS FOR TURNING THE BODY AND SWITCH FROM SAID ONE ORIENTATION TO THE OTHER ORIENTATION WHEN THE BODY AND SWITCH ARE FLOATED BY WATER OF SUFFICIENT DEPTH AROUND THEM. 